Suzy Brain England OBE, Trust Chair:
Tell us about your journey into the NHS and what would if there is anything you would do differently.
I started as a non-executive director in the NHS at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals, and have worked on the Board of Directors at Barnsley and now Doncaster and Bassetlaw. I also helped Kirklees Community Healthcare Services set up the Community Interest Company, now called Locala, to deliver community services in Kirklees. For many years I was a Lay Representative for Health Education England, supporting speciality recruitment for training and conducting ARCPs. I was very active in the LIFT programme, on boards building new health and social care premises in Doncaster, Barnsley, Oldham, Hull, and Bradford. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
If you were stuck in a lift with anybody who would it be and why?
A firefighter, because they usually know how to get out of broken lifts safely. I live near to the Fire Service Headquarters so I might also get a lift home!
Your most inspirational female icon, past or present?
Joan Armatrading. Great song writer and singer.
What did you want to be when you were younger?
The first woman Prime Minister – but Margaret Thatcher beat me to it.
What is your favourite food and most disliked, and why?
Indian cuisine favourite and least favourite is parsnips – All the fault of school dinners, I think!
Do you have any phobias?
I do not like fairground rides.
Tell us something funny about yourself
I once slipped on the Cow and Calf rocks at Ilkley and they needed not just one ambulance crew but two to get me down and to Airedale Hospital. I must go on a diet!